Switch



@ci 115, @335 c. E. BRYANT Q Z SWITCH Filed July 2, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l @(CYL .11, 1935. c E, BRYANT I 2,017,179

SWITCH Filed July 2, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 6, E. B z/ani.

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Patented Oct. 15, 1935 UNITED STATES SWITCH Charles E. Bryant, Inman,

Bowdil Company, Bowdil, Ohio,

of Ohio Va., assignor to The a corporation Application July 2, 1934, Serial No. 733,510

3 Claims.

This invention relates to electrical switches and has for its object the provision of a switch which may be very quickly and easily thrown and which, when thrown to cut off the current, will choke any arc which may have been formed so that damage, due to fire, will be avoided. The switch is intended primarily for use in connection with mine car motors although, of course, it may be advantageously employed in other fields. In operating mines, a trolley wire is strung through the main passages of a mine and the mine cars are equipped with trolley poles through which the current is taken from the trolley wire and transmitted to the motor on the car to accomplish propulsion of the car. As the mine develops, lateral passages or galleries are opened extending various distances from the main passage and it is often impracticable to extend the trolley wire through the lateral passages or galleries so that it is the practice to mount upon the car a reel upon which a conducting cable is wound, one end of the cable being connected with the motor and the opposite end thereof being provided with means for engagement with the trolley wire. As long as the car is traveling in the main passage, the trolley pole is raised so as to make contact with the trolley wire and furnish current to the motor, but when the car is required to travel in the lateral galleries or passages, the trolley pole is lowered and the free end of the cable is then engaged with the trolley wire so that as the car moves in or through the lateral passages, the cable will unwind from the reel so as to accommodate the increasing distance between the car and the main passage and supply current to the motor through the cable. The drum or reel upon which the cable is wound is rotated automatically so that the cable will be taken up or let out accordingly as the car moves toward or from the main passage. It is an object of the present invention to provide a switch which may be easily and quickly set to connect the motor with either the trolley pole or the wound cable, as occasion may demand, and provide proper connections with the motor at all times, while the construction is such that the motor will be guarded against destroying arcs. The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and consists in certain novel features which will be hereinafter first fuly described and then more particularly defined in the .appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure .1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a mine car having my improved switch mounted thereon.

Figure 2 is an enlarged elevation of the switch with the cover removed.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2. 5

Figure 4 is a detail view of a portion of the cover showing the handle in position thereon and showing the stop whereby the movement of the handle is limited.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail section on the line 10 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a detail elevation of one of the contact fingers.

Figure 7 is a detail section on the line 1-1 of Figure 6.

In the drawings, the reference numeral I indicates a mine car and 2 designates a trolley pole carried upon the top of the car and so mounted that'it may be raised or lowered at will. The trolley wire is indicated at 3 and a cable is indi- 20 cated at 4 equipped at its free end with a hook 5 adapted to be engaged over the trolley wire and wound upon a reel or drum 6 mounted upon the car. The motor controller is indicated at I and above the controller at 8 is indicated my im- 25 proved switch. It will be readily noted that one end of the cable 4 is carried into the switch and a conducting cable 9 extends from the trolley pole into the switch, while a conductor l0 connects the switch with the controller, a fuse, indi- 30 cated at H, being inserted in the conductor H). The construction of the mine car, the controller and the reel may be of any approved or known form and these parts have been illustrated in a diagrammatic manner inasmuch as, in them- 35 selves, they form no part of my invention.

The switch comprises a base 'l2 which may be secured to the car by screws, rivets or any other preferred means and upon this base is secured a box I3 in which the working parts of 40 the switch are housed. Within the box is a false bottom or plate M which is removably secured to the base 12 by screws l5 so that it may be easily taken from the box if the occasion arises. All the working parts of the switch are mounted upon 45 this false bottom or plate l4 and upon a lid or cover l6 so that if it should be necessary to repair or replace some of the parts, it will not be necessary to remove the entire switch from the car and substitute an entire new switch. The lid I5 is removably secured upon the sides of the box by screws II, as clearly shown in Figure 3, and a handle [8 is mounted upon the cover to turn pivotally thereon. A washer or collar I9 is set in the underside of the lid and the upper end .is equipped with a thimble or of a stem passes through the central opening of the washer and engages in a socket 2| formed in the underside of the handle, as clearly shown in Figure 3. The handle is provided on its underside with a boss 22 which fits rotatably in the upper portion of the opening in the lid which receives the washer, and the washer is secured to the handle by screws 23, as shown and as will be understood. It will be noted that the washer is provided with an annular shoulder which engages against a mating shoulder in the lid so that when the parts are assembled, the washer and the handle will be firmly connected and will be swiveled in the lid. As shown clearly in Figures 2, 3 and 5, the ends of the stem are circular in cross section, while the intermediate portion 24 thereof is noncircular or fiat-sided so that when the handle is turned, the stem will be rotated and the rotor fitted on the stem will also be rotated. The boss 22 is formed with wings or lateral extensions 25 at diametrically opposite points and a stop block 26 is secured on the top of the lid, as shown in Figure 4, to be engaged by one or the other of said wings accordingly as the current is to be taken through the trolley pole or through the cable.

This construction positively transmits movement of the handle to the stem and the rotor carried by the stem, while at the same time, the handle will be readily disengaged from the stem by merely lifting the cover from the box.

Fitted on the intermediate portion of the stem is a rotor 21 of insulating material which extends between the false bottom I 4 and the cover IE to rotate with the stem, it being noted that the lower end of the stem is journaled in the false bottom. The rotor, the false bottom, the box and insulating material, as well as and the current will be confined to the paths provided therefor. Fitted in the periphery of the rotor 21 is a segmental plate 28 of brass or other suitable conducting material which is set in the periphery so that it will be flush therewith and is of the same height as the rotor, as will be understood upon reference to Figures 2 and 3. Secured upon the bottom l4, at intervals around the rotor 21, are finger blocks 29 of insulating material and of any approved form having an arcuate edge portion 30 fitting close to the rotor, as clearly shown in Figure 2. Upon each finger block is mounted a spring contact finger or brush comprising a head 3| of conducting material and a resilient plate 32 having the head 3| secured to its free end and its opposite end secured to a bracket 33 which, in turn, is firmly secured to the adjacent corner of the finger block 29 and sleeve 34 adapted to receive the end of a conducting cable, said end being firmly secured in the socket, sleeve or thimble by a set screw 35 in an obvious manner. Referring to Figure 2 more particularly, it will be seen that the cable 9, coming from the trolley pole, is secured to the bracket at the lower right hand corner of the box, while the cable H), which extends to the controller, is secured to the brack et in the upper left hand corner of the figure, the cable 4, which is connected to the reel, being secured to the bracket 33 at the left hand side of the figure. These several cables should be covered with insulation and only so much of the end of each bared as may be necessary to eifect a good electrical and mechanical connection with the respective bracket. Openings, indicated at 36. are provided in the sides of the box to accommodate these respective cables and said openings should be of such diameter as to have a snug fit with the cables so that leakage of mine gases into the box, will be guarded against. A gasket, indicated at 31, may also be provided between the lid and the upper edges of the box for the same purpose so that the danger of fire from ignition of the mine gases will be minimized. Each bracket 33 has a laterally extending portion secured to the adjacent side of the corresponding finger block, or a recess therein, and also a portion at a right angle thereto in which the end of the cable is secured. The segment 28 is of such extent that it may connect any two of the contact fingers or brushes 3|, and set in the finger block to which the cable 9 is attached and the finger block to which the cable I!) is attached are fiber strips or choke blades 38 of fiber, asbestos or similar material, one edge of each of said choke blades bearing constantly upon the periphery of the rotor. While the segment 28 is of such extent that it may connect any two of the brushes or contact fingers, in actual practice, it never connects the fingers so as to establish fiow between the cables 4 and 9, the relation of the wings 25 on the handle and the working sides of the stop block 26 being such that the handle can only swing through a predetermined in one position of rest, will cause the segment to connect another position. will connect the cables 9 and ID.

If the current is being taken through the trolley pole, the segment will be set so as to connect the brushes 3| at the lower and right hand sides of the box, as they appear in Figure 2, flow being thereby established from the conductor 9 through the connected contact finger, the segment and the upper contact finger to the cable in. If the current is being received through the cable 4 on the reel, the segment will be set, as shown in Figure 2, so that the current will flow through the co-related brushes or other contact fingers from the cable 4 to the cable It). Should anything happen to cause an interruption and arcing in the current at any point, the switch is thrown so that the segment will be moved out of contact with that brush or finger through which the incoming current is received and the operating circuit will be thereby broken so that the movement of the operating parts before any damage is done. It is to be especially noted that the segment is always in contact with the brush connected with the cable leading to the motor and, therefore, the choke blades are provided only adjacent the other fingers and in what will be the open side of the circuit when the circuit is to be broken. The brushes are arranged out of contact with the sides of the box or housing and are also out of actual contact with the sides of the finger block so that they are surrounded with sufficient air to keep them cool under all conditions and the choke blades are set so close to the contact fingers with which they cooperate that any arcs which may be formed will be immediately choked or extinguished. The

choke blades are easily removed so that, if they should become charred to such an extent as to be no longer useful, new blades may be easily substituted.

My improved switch is highly effective, is compact and free of complicated arrangements so that it is not apt to get out of order and may be produced and installed at a low cost.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

the cables 4 and I0 and, in

will be arrested 1. A switch comprising a rotor of insulation, is

a conducting segment extending circumferentially of the rotor, contact fingers spaced from each other circumferentially of the rotor a distance whereby a pair of fingers may be connected by said segment, insulating members having elongated arcuate faces extending circumferentially of the rotor between the fingers in close but slightly spaced relation to the rotor and fingers, and choke blades carried by certain of said insulating members and each projecting adjacent one end of the arcuate face of the insulating member carrying the same and having a face appreciably shorter than the arcuate face of the insulating member for bearing against the rotor and conducting segment in close proximity to the adjacent contact finger.

2. A switch comprising a rotor of insulation, a conducting segment set in the periphery of the rotor, contact fingers bearing against the periphery of said rotor in spaced relation to each other circurnferentially thereof whereby upon turning the rotor a pair of fingers may be connected by the conducting segment, insulating members between said fingers having inner faces confronting the periphery of the rotor in slightly spaced relation thereto, and choke members of insulation bearing against the periphery of the rotor between certain of the fingers and insulating members in close proximity to the fingers.

3. A switch comprising a rotor of insulation, a conducting segment set in the periphery of the rotor, blocks of insulation spaced from each other circumferentially of the rotor and having elongated arcuate inner faces confronting the periphery of the rotor in close but slightly spaced relation thereto, resilient strips connected with said blocks and having free end portions projecting from the blocks between the blocks, contact fingers carried by the free end portions of said strips and bearing against the periphery of the rotor between the blocks in slightly spaced relation to the blocks, and choke blades of insulation carried by certain of said blocks and each projecting from the inner face of the block carrying 20 the same at one end thereof and having a short inner end face contacting with the periphery of the rotor in close proximity to the adjacent contact finger.

CHARLES E. BRYANT. [L. S.] 

